I Can Never Forget
by Light-Blue Flower
Summary: Akira is 25, living alone with her 6 years old son. She can never forget her son's father, for he is her first friend and her first and last love. Heaven is peaceful, but not for Deidara. He can't stop thinking about the girlfriend/wife he left behind and his son. One day, during the war, they somehow meet up again...only spoiler here is the ninja war. I kind of have to twist it.
1. Chapter 1

_ Sorry if the summary wasn't that great. I didn't have enough space left, so it had to be short! This is my first ever fan fiction I ever wrote. This is just Chapter 1, it's going to be ongoing and...enjoy!_

**DISCLAIMER: I DO NOT OWN NARUTO, NOR TO I OWN BARBIE! (you'll see why)**

Chapter 1

The door to the one-roomed apartment opened and closed with a slam, loud enough that you can hear it from the bedroom across the hall with the door shut tight. A young woman –maybe in her mid-twenties, around the age of 25- on the bed gave out a sigh, and closed the novel she was reading. _Why?_ She though. _Why does he have to slam the door so hard to signify that he is either pissed off or had a bad day?_

Today was her day off from her ninja work. She though that she can just relax for the day, you know, just finish that love novel she bought a month ago and left unfinished. But, it looks like her 6-year-old son would **not** let her off the hook.

"Mooooooooom!" yelled the high-pitched voice of her son. _Why does he have to yell at the top of his lungs? He must have had a terrible day_. The woman got out of her comfortable bed, and placed her novel on the dresser.

"I'm in the bedroom, sweetheart," she called back. His running foot-steps got louder and louder he got closer to the bedroom. The door swung open violently, her son bursting into the room. From where the young woman was standing, she could see every aspects of her son.

His face was flustered, and he was panting hard; his ocean blue eyes were red, filled with anger and frustration; on the side of his right cheek, you can see tears; his hands were clenched to a fist, and held to his sides. What the women can determine from just looking at her son was this: He ran all the way from the Ninja Academy, here at the Village Hidden among the Stones (A.K.A. Iwakagure) without stopping. He was crying while running here, which is why tears were on the back of his neck and there were only a few in sight, since the rest flew away. He was also made fun of his long, blonde hair, which is all tangled and out of placed. Most likely someone must of grabbed him from his hair, tugging on it. His clothes were also dirty, she noticed, and like he was pushed down a million times.

"Who did this to you?" The woman asked as she walked up to him, interrupting him from almost asking a question, with a serious tone in her voice. _Someone has been messing with my son again_, she though. This is something that rarely happens, but always happens every month, like some kind of bully tradition. It is mostly the doing of a kid named Akane before. No matter how many times the women tell his parents about what happens at the Academy, he never changed. Until last month, that is, when his parents were forced to send him to a military school for discipline. _Now, someone else has taken Akane's place it seems_ she though.

"What?" Her son, said, gasping for air. She pointed at his screwed up hair and his clothes covered in dirt.

"Oh," he said. "I just… tripped over un-even grass, and rolled down the hill near the Academy." She heard him choke at the last part. _He is obviously lying_.

She squatted so she can be almost his height now or lower. She looked at him straight in the eyes, with eyes that could kill. He looked away.

"Are you sure you just "tripped" on grass?" She asked, with no sympathy in her tone. He gave a quick nod. "You aren't lying to me, are you?" His head made a no gesture. She looked at him for a moment in silence. She can tell he was tensing up and trying not to cry. She sighs. _I'm going to let him and his lying off the hook…For now that is_.

"Fine." She said, finally standing up. "Go take a shower, and change into your PJs, then." He obediently did what his mother told him to do, and ran into the bathroom.

An hour later, both she and her son are on the bed. Her son had gone to take a shower first for 30 minutes, and then the women went second for her 30 minutes shower. Her son was eating some _bakudan_*, while his mother was brushing his hair with a beautiful, white brush.

The brush she was using was most important thing she has ever received as a gift from the one who she once loved, and she always cherished it. Not only did she cherish it because it was important, she cherished its beauty and art. The designs on the back were hand-painted and beautiful. It was a half of a cherry blossom tree, with multiple cherry blossom flowers and a few falling. The tree was painted the colour of gold. As for the cherry blossoms, they weren't exactly pink, but black, since it looked better with the gold cherry blossom tree and the white brush. On each of the cherry blossom flowers that were falling (5 cherry blossoms are falling on the brush), were a white gem, like a diamond, in the middle of the flower.

"Mom, is it okay if I…" her son said suddenly, but then stopped.

"Yes," she said, softly. "What is it?"

"It's nothing," he said quickly.

"Deidara," she said seriously. Her son had a habit of asking his mom something, but stops in the middle. "What is it that you want?"

"Err…" he said. "Is it okay if I can…you know… cut my hair?" She sigh, but inside her head. _Why can't he just not ask me this every time it grows up to the middle of his back? _

"But your hair is so long and beautiful," she said. "It would be a shame to cut it." _No, _she though, _it IS a shame to cut it all up._ The woman was always jealous of his son's hair. Unlike her hair, which was, yes thick, but was always short, brown, never in place, her son had blonde, luscious, thick, long, always in order, never has any frizz hair. He was like a perfect Barbie doll, which doesn't need to worry about a windy day. While the girls in his class has to worry about the wind blowing their hair everywhere, his hair just flows with the wind and goes back in perfect place.

"It doesn't matter anyway," Deidara said with a huff in is voice. "It would grow back fast anyway." He pointed out another harsh truth about his hair. The woman remembered cutting his hair twice.

The first time, they cut it short, like the usual boy hair style, with his side bang. Within two weeks, his hair has grown all the way to his shoulders. Within another two weeks, his hair was in between the top of his back and the middle of his back. It soon grew until it reached the middle of his back. The growth of Deidara starts to grow really slow, however, like it was trying to stop from growing any longer. His mother's hypothesis: His hair likes to be kept at a certain long length. She got his hair cut again, and the same thing happened.

_Hmm, _she thought, still brushing her son's hair. _Maybe we should cut his hair a bit…_

"Yeah," she said. "Let's cut your hair up to your shoulders then." Deidara didn't respond his mother, but she can tell that has long as his hair is shorter than it is now, he'd be okay with it. They stayed silent for a few moments. The silence was long enough for his mom to put his hair in a braid.

"Mom…" Deidara said, breaking the silence between the two.

"Yes," the women replied.

"Why am I so…different?"

_It's like he's saying, "Mom, why am I not human_, she said to herself.

"Can you please clarify your question?" He turned to face his mother.

"I don't look like either you, or my grandparents. The only thing I got from you was the shape of your eyes." He looked down a bit. He grabbed a lock of his blonde hair. "But everything else about me –my eye colour, my hair colour- is different. I don't have same genetics from your side. It's weird, but I keep thinking…" He looked straight into his mother's eyes. "Could it be my father's genes, _hmmmm_?" All the woman do in response was stare at his son with big open eyes.

She tries to forget. She tries so hard to forget **him**. **His** face, the way **he** talks, the way **he** smiles. Everything about him. But, no matter what, whenever she looks at her son long enough, she sees **him**. Standing right in front of her. Her son smiles, **he** smiles. Her son laughs, **he** laughs.

Her son was spot on of what he said. He had his father's genes. Everything about his appearance is like his dad's. His long, blond hair; his ocean blue eyes; his small structure and height; his small hands that makes him a great artist; the same smile **he** flashes at her that always made her blush or smile. Her son also developed the habit of saying _hm_,or _yeah_.

"You know," her son said, without noticing how pale she was. "Whenever I look at that terrorist bomber guy on the paper, he looks a lot like me, _yeah_. He even has the same name as me. It's weird though. I wish you could have come up with something different than Deidara. Something likes your name, Akira… That would be great,_ hm_?" He looked at his mother, and then only realized how pale she was.

"Mom, are you okay?" he said, as he shook his mother. "You look pale, _yeah_."

Akira snapped out of her mental image of **him**. She looked at her son, and smiled. "Yeah, I'm just tired. I think I'm going to go to bed now." Without another word, she flopped on her back, and closed her eyes.

Deidara brought his plate to the kitchen, brushed his teeth, and crawled into bed with his mom.

_Meanwhile, someplace high up in the sky…_

In the house of the Atasuki up in heaven, a guy with long blonde hair and ocean blue eyes was looking out the window. He was in the living room of the Atasuki's house. The other members were still eating in the dining room.

_I wonder…_ The blonde man though._ I wonder how Akira is doing_.

"Deidara," said a voice behind him. Deidara turned around to meet face-to-face with a pair of Sharingan eyes. _Damn that Itachi_.

"What are you doing here?" Deidara said with a bitter tone.

"I am just looking after my comrade," Itachi responded. They didn't speak for a few moments. "Is there someone precious that still lives in the living world?" That question totally knocked Deidara off guard. Normally, Deidara would not respond to Itachi's question, and would ignore him. Deidara is still pissed off by the fact that he can't even defeat him. But, instead he finds himself nodding.

"What's her name?" Itachi asked.

"Why do suggest it a girl?!" Deidara exploded, while blushing and not thinking about the consequences.

"You are blushing." Itachi replied with a smirk. "Tell me, what her name is."

"Why would matter to you! I barely even talk to you on Earth, do you think I'll talk to you on Heaven?!"

"Because, I was never able to further develop our acquaintanceship." Itachi smiled. "Tell me."

"Her name is…"Deidara felt himself blushing. "Akira."

"What's your relationship with her?"

"She's my…" luckily, Deidara was saved when he heard Kakazu yelling at Pein. "Do you know how much that sake cost?! That was really expensive and you weren't supposed to f***ing drink it!"

"Sake is meant to be drunk," he heard the voice of Sasori. "It's not meant to collect dust."

"SHUT UP SASORI!" Yelled Kakazu.

"YOU SHUT THE F*CK UP KAKAZU!" Yelled the voice of Hidan. "I CAN'T PRAY TO JASHIN OVER THIS F***ING NOISE!"

"Nagato, did you do the laundry? You didn't, did you?" said the voice of Konan. "Now that your drunk, who else can do it?"

"I think it's best if we interfere, don't you think?" Itachi asked Deidara. Deidara nodded and followed Itachi to the kitchen.

_She's my girlfriend…or wife._

**_Please leave a review after reading this. I would like to see what others think about my fan fiction. That would be most helpful. Thank you!  
_**

**_*Bakudan is boiled eggs, and the Japanese word is bomb. This is also the Atasuki's Deidara's favourite food, actually._**


	2. Chapter 2

**Thanks for the review somebodi-else! And to those who actually read the first chapter of my fan fiction! Also, I have another fan fiction that I am also working on. Please read it, if you are interested or a fan of _Lucky Star_. **

**__Note: When I was writing this, I knew that Deidara was the youngest of all the Atasuki. So, I thought that he must of been 25 (yeah, I skipped some parts in Naruto Shippuden... I need to catch up on what I didn't read. I read most parts, but I was busy... Geez, I really have to catch up -_-) So, anyways, I was reading the chapters I missed and I realised he joined the Atasuki when he was 16 and is now 19. So, let's just say he's 25 in this fan fic.**

Chapter 2

"_You trust me, right, un?" He whispered. Akira was sitting on an old bench on a hill that no one comes to anymore. The sun was setting on the horizon, painting the skies with its warm yellow, orange, and red colour. She somehow recognized this place. She felt her hand being lifted up. She turned to face a young man with blonde hair. He leaned towards her ear, and whispers "Would you do me the honour of being my bride, hmm?"_

Akira woke up with by a loud banging on the door. She felt her cheeks burning, and her heart was racing. She checked the clock. _5:30 AM_. _Who would decide to come visit at such an hour?_ She though in her head. She looked beside her. Her son, Deidara, was fast asleep beside her. _Good, he's not awake_. She got out of bed, and put a sweater on to cover her tank top.

As she was walking towards the front door, she was thinking about her dream. _What the hell? I feel like I know that place. I wasn't able to recognize that guy. But maybe, just maybe…_ She stopped herself from thinking any further. No way is she going to remember **him**. No way is she ever going to remember that face.

She peered through the peep hole to see who it was. It was Kurotsuchi, the grand-daughter of the Third Tsuchikage, Ōnoki. She was accompanied by Akatsuchi, the Tsuchikage-_sama_'s bodyguard. Kurotsuchi was holding a clipping board with multiple pages, with small writing. Akatsuchi was carrying a bunch of packages. Akira opened the door for them. _What is she doing here at a time like this?_

"Good morning, Akira," spoke Kurotsuchi in her usual calm manner. Kurotsuchi must have been a few years younger than Akira. You can tell that she was quite young.

"Yes, good morning Akira-san!" Akatsuchi said cheerfully. Akira smiled. She loved Akatsuchi's cheerful personality, and always looked forward towards working with him.

"Good morning to the both of you," Akira said while turning around. "Please, come in and have a seat." They both obediently did as they were told. No matter how stubborn Kurotsuchi was, there was no way she can beat someone that can be more stubborn than her if necessary. They sat down.

"Can I get you anything?" Asked Akira, making her way towards the kitchen.

"No, it's okay. We are only going to be here for a couple of minutes here, Akira." Akira sat down to a chair that was opposite of Kurotsuchi and Akatsuchi. She was thinking in her head, _why can't Kurotsuchi-san be a little more respectful? Not trying to sound rude or anything, but why does she acts like my superior? Yes, she is the grand-daughter of the old man, but I've been a ninja longer than her. I call her Kurotsuchi-san, but she never me Akira-san. She can be so arrogant at times._

"So, tell me." Akira said. "Why have you come here so early in the morning?"

"You heard about how the five Kage have had a meeting on Kage Summit?" Ask Kurotsuchi. Akira nodded.

"Yes, and I was also informed that a masked man, who identified himself as Tobi, and has claimed the Fourth Shinobi World War. I think I'm already registered in the list. Why else are you here for?"

"Oh, we are just here to give you the Allied Force _hitai-ate_*, and tell you when to meet up at the base all the Allied Force Shinobi are supposed to meet up," replied Akatsuchi. He handed over a package to Akira. "Please, try not to lose the _hitai-ate_." Akira kind of glared at him. He didn't need to tell her. When it comes to anything that comes with her Shinobi work, she was extra careful and responsible about it.

Akira opened the package. There was a black head-band, with the kanji for Shinobi on it.

"We are leaving on _," said Kurotsuchi. "Please, do not be late, for we will be departing early." She got up. "Let's go, Akatsuchi." Kurotsuchi left without another word, with Akatsuchi trailing behind her. Akira got up to close the door behind them. As she did, she sighs. _I can't believe it comes down to this. War. I would leave Deidara alone, but this is going to last more than one night._ _Guess I'm going to have to make arrangements for Deidara to stay over at Yukari-chan's house_._ He can keep Haruhi-chan company_. She went to the bathroom to brush her teeth, and change.

Once she got out, the time was already 6:30. _Time to walk my dear boy up_. She opened the door, only to find Deidara sprawled on the floor. He looked up at Akira with wide eyes. He forced a smile, and replied "Hey Mom! What's up, un?"

Deidara woke up to the sound of banging. He opened his eyes half way, to see his mother up. He looked at the clock, which said _5:30 A.M_. _I'll just let Mom answer it. _He closed his eyes, trying to fall back asleep. But, before he could fall asleep, a female voice, other than his mother was talking.

"Good morning, Akira," said the voice said. Deidara recognized the voice right away. It was Kurotsuchi-san's voice. _What is Kurotsuchi-san doing here at a time like this?_ Then, a brilliant thought came up to his mind. Ninja work. Maybe an assassin work. His mom is a jounin. She can't go on an assassin work. Maybe, something else? Out of pure curiosity, he got out of bed, crouched down besides the door, and leaned his ear on the door. _I know Mom would kill me for eavesdropping on her ninja business._ He though. _But, still…_ He heard more voices, and told his head to shut up.

"So, tell me." Said Deidara's mother. "Why have you come here so early in the morning?"

"You heard about how the five Kage have had a meeting on Kage Summit?" said Kurotsuchi.

"Yes, and I was also informed that a masked man, who identified himself as Madara, and has claimed the Fourth Shinobi World War. I think I'm already registered in the list. Why else are you here for?" Deidara's eyes shot up. _Since when was there a war? Mom never mentioned it._ He tried to rack through his memory. He smacked his fore-head. _Oh, yeah. She did mention it to me a couple of days ago_. At the time Akira told her son, he was already half asleep. It must've gone from one ear, and went out the other.

"Oh, we are just here to give you the Allied Force _hitai-ate_*, and tell you when to meet up at the base all the Allied Force Shinobi are supposed to meet up," said a male's voice. Deidara recognized it as Akatsuchi, the old man's round bodyguard. "Please, try not to lose the _hitai-ate_."

"We are leaving on _," said Kurotsuchi. "Please, do not be late, for we will be departing early. Let's go, Akatsuchi." Deidara gasped quietly.

_That's two days from now! Mom's going to leave in two days._ He started fidgeting with his fingers. _What's going to happen to me? Where would I go when Mom leaves? Will Mom be okay? Oh no, I didn't realise until now! I'm a terrible kid for not listening to Mom!_ He heard the front door close, and the lock locked. Footsteps were getting close to the door, but Deidara didn't pay attention. He was too busy fretting about the fact his mom is going to war. _What will happen if Mom doesn't come back? What will happen if she's-_

His thoughts were disturbed, for the door pushed him to the ground. Deidara turned around, and was stared down by his mother. His mother's face was expressionless as she looked at her son who was sprawled on the ground. Deidara felt tense.

"Hey Mom! What's up, un?" He said as he forced a smile. _Oh no, I'm so done for!_ But all his mother did was staring down at her son.

"What were you doing?" His mother finally asked.

"Oh, ar, nothing," Deidara replied quickly. "Just got up and was about to…" He noticed a _yen_* on the floor. He didn't know how a _yen_ got there, but he's just going to take advantage of the situation. He bent down. "Picking up this _yen, _hm?" His mother just stared at him.

"You were listening to Kurotsuchi's and mine conversation, right?"

"Well…yeah." He realised that now he was in hot water. "Ididn'tmeanto, I'mreallysorrydon'tpunishmeI'llkeepitasecrect, yeah!" He said all at once. He bowed down.

"It's okay," his mother said. He looked up. "It really makes no difference. I think I told you about this before." She smiled. "Go get ready for school." Deidara nodded and went out the room.

"Oye, Deidara-kuuuun!" said a voice behind Deidara and Akira. Deidara turned around. It was his friend, Haruhi. Deidara blushed. Haruhi was just like her name; Spring Sunshine. She was the classes' sunshine; because of her sunny personality…actually she was **his** sunshine. She was his first and closest friend. She gave him the courage to do anything. She was also very pretty, and popular too. With her warm brown eyes and wavy brown hair, guys fall from the sight of her.

"H-Haruhi-chan, un," Deidara stuttered. "Good morning, un." She caught up to him and his mother. She bowed towards Deidara's mom. "Good morning, Aunt Akira."

"Good morning to you too Haruhi-chan," replied his mother. "Is your mom here?"

"Yes, she's catching up. She'll be here any minute now." Haruhi turned around to face the direction she came from. "There she is right now! Hey, Mom!" Soon, a woman that looked exactly like Haruhi came into sight. Her stomach was big and round. Deidara was told by Haruhi that Aunt Yukari with be having a baby soon. "I'll be an older sister soon!" Haruhi told him once, her face filled with pride.

"Ah, Akira-chan!" Said Yukari when she got near the threesome.

"Good morning, Yukari-chan," said Deidara's mother. "Was that supposed to be a greeting just now?" Yukari laughed.

"No, not really. If you want a proper greeting then hello!" Deidara's mom started to laugh.

"Hi to you too. Anyways, I need to discuss something about you." As the mothers started to discuss, Haruhi whispered to Deidara.

"Mom's been worried recently," Haruhi said. "With the baby and the war. Of course mom is not going to participate, but your mom is going to war right?"

"Yeah, she is," Deidara said. "They're going to leave in two days."

"Ooh… So, who are you going to stay with?"

"I… I'm not sure." Deidara sigh. "I wonder if I have to stay home alone."

"That would be cool! Mom says it's good to take care of yourself, and says I'd have to be responsible of the house some times when Dad and she go on missions."

"My mom does it usually, but only for one night. She returns the next day. This war might be long, so I might have to stay with someone."

"Hey, Deidara," said his mother. "I made arrangements for you to stay with Aunt Yukari's house for a bit, 'kay?"

"Hunh?" _I'll be staying at Haruhi's house…_ He felt Haruhi hugging him from behind. He looked behind with a shock. His face started to heat up.

"H-Haruhi-chan, un?!" His heart was beating fast and loudly, like it was going to explode from his body.

"Yah, Deidara-kun is staying over at my house! Now I won't be alone!" Haruhi said cutely. So cutely, Deidara started to blush like crazy. _Why is my face all heated up? Ack, this is bad, un!_

"Great, it's settled then," Deidara's mom said. "After school, we'll start packing your clothes and other necessary things." Deidara nodded while smiling.

"You know about the Fourth Shinobi World War, right Yukari-chan?" Asked Akira. Yukari paused and kept walking.

"Yeah, some masked freak from the Atasuki came up at the meeting between the five Kage," she finally said. "He addressed himself as Madara Uchiha. He also declared War." She sigh. "This is a really crappy situation. Although, I wonder how he's going to defeat all the Five Nation Shinobies. I mean, all the Atasuki members are wiped out anyway. Including that bastard Deidara-!" She clasped her hands over her mouth. _Shit, I shouldn't have said that!_ She kept repeating in her head, _crap, crap, CRAP!_ Akira just kept staring at Akira with her steel, grey, narrow eyes.

"S-sorry Akira-chan! I didn't mean to call him a-" But Akira cut Yukari short.

"Hm? What do you have to be sorry for?"

"J-just now, what I just said…"

"What did you just say?" Her face looked sincerely puzzled, like she didn't have clue what the hell Yukari was saying.

"Are you serious?!"

"W-what? What did you say? Was it something important?" Akira just kept staring at Yukari. Yukari stared at Akira, dumbstruck. _Is she serious?_

"Anyway, Yukari-chan, can Deidara stay at your house while I'm away?" When Akira says Deidara, she meant her son Deidara.

"Yeah, sure," Yukari smiled. "When is he coming over?" _I may have dodged a bullet. What a relief._ She didn't realise how much Akira was shaking.

"Why do I have to be cooking on a weekend, HM!?" complained Sasori.

"Shut up you insignificant brat!" Yelled Sasori. "Quit your complaining. I have to make food too!"

The two of them were in the kitchen, up at their headquarters in Heaven. The death never gets a break, and must do their weekly chores. It's Deidara's and Sasori's turn to make dinner today. Unfortunatly, they are not the greatest partners to work together…especially when it comes to cooking meals.

"What are we going to make, hm, Donna?" Deidara asked while picking up some pans, looking around the kitchen. He started opening cupboards after cupboards. "How about _bakudan_?"

"We can't always have what you want." Sasori picked up a cook book and started flipping through it. "Something simple though. I don't want to waste time on food that I'm not going to even eat."

"Sasori, you know you aren't a puppet here, right? You're basically a human," said Konan, as she entered the kitchen. She narrowed her eyes when she saw that they weren't making any food yet. She sighs. She has to do everything around here, as long as she's the only girl here. "You guys didn't even start making dinner? I have to do everything around here don't I?" She rolled up her sleeves. "Whatever. I'll help you guys. Since you guys don't know how to cook, that is."

"Hey, I know full well how to cook, yeah!" Yelled Deidara. "Don't underestimate me Kanon, un!"

"Yeah, right. I've **never** seen you make a meal before." She over-exaggerated a bit at the last part. She has seen cook once, but he basically bombarded the whole place.

"YES YOU HAVE, UN!"

"But you destroyed the place. I didn't even taste the dish." She took out a bag of noodles out and opened the packet.

"Before I joined the Atasuki, un! I used to cook all the time for myself and-" He cut himself short all of the sudden. No way is he saying her name. _Try to forget about the past Deidara_. "Someone else," he finished. He looked down, trying not to make contact with Kanon. This sudden stop made Kanon curious. She smirked and leaned closer to Deidara.

"Ooh, yourself and someone else? Who this someone else?"

"It doesn't concern you, understand, hmmm?!"

"Could it be a girl?"

"WHY DO YOU THINK IT'S A GIRL, UN?! IT COULD BE A GUY, UN!"

Sasori decided to join this discussion. "So, are you stating that you are gay?"

"I NEVER SAID THA-!" Deidara was cut short by Kanon, who ran to the entrance of the living room.

"HEY EVERYONE!" Kanon hollered into the living room. "DEIDARA HAS DECIDED TO COME OUT OF THE CLOSET AND DECLARED THAT HE IS GAY! AND, HE LIKES TO DRESS UP AS A GIRL!" Right after Konan stated that Deidara was gay (and he likes to cross-dress), there was a commotion.

"CAN YOU IDIOTS SHUT THE HELL UP! I'M TRYING TO F***ING PRAY OVER HERE!" Yelled Hidan, trying to over talk the commotion.

"Did you hear the news? Apparently, Deidara is gay," said Pain.

"Hm, that means he doesn't mind if I sell his photo to other males? They do pay a lot more money than girls do…" said Kakazu. "I can be instantly rich! Konan, I'll be borrowing some of your dresses!" Kakazu left the living room towards Konan's room.

"Well, this is breaking news," said Itachi, sipping on some tea.

"I never said I was gay!" yelled Deidara. "And don't go adding stuff up, Konan!" He turned around and looked at Itachi. "And you! You already know that it's a girl!" All the commotion stopped. Then, a new conversation started:

"Heh?"

"Say what?"

"Deidara has a girlfriend?"

"Since when?"

"What, so I can't sell his pictures? What a waste of time."

"What's her name?" Konan asked.

"None of your business, yeah!" Deidara yelled. Suddenly, a beam of light surrounded Deidara, Sasori, Pain, Itachi, and Kakazu.

"Huh? What's happening?" Kakazu asked. Coffins suddenly shut him tight inside.

"Huh, what?" Sasori said inside the coffin that shut him inside. He started to slam his fist on the coffin. "What the hell is this? Deidara, did you do something wrong? I'll kill you!"

"Yes, Donna, un! Instantly blame it on me, hm! And we are already dead you fool, yeah!" Deidara said.

"_Summoning: Impure World Reincarnation_ technique," Pain muttered. Then, they all disappeared in a blink of an eye, leaving Kanon open mouthed. _What the…what the hell just happened_.

**Thanks for reading! Please review.**


	3. Chapter 3

** Disclaimer: I took parts of the war to make it seem more…Naruto-ish. Anyways, I don't own that, and I don't own the other characters…I think I forgot to write a disclaimer for my last chapter XD**

** Yeah, anyways, this may be long, so just bear with it. And remember to review! And follow! And, thanks for reading this fanfic! If anything is wrong or weird, its because I used the copy-paste method. Enjoy!**

Chapter 3

_ "Akira, listen," someone said beside her. Akira suddenly was conscious, and finally noticed what was going on and her surroundings. _Where am I? _Akira wondered._ This must be another dream._ She looked around her, taking in her surroundings. They had a beautiful, starry night sky that hung above her, with a moon shining bright. She was sitting on a cliff, which oversees a small town. Akira was sitting on grass, beside a blonde guy._

_It must have been the same guy in her previous dream, but he looked younger, around the age of 14. He was wearing your average black T-shirt and blue jeans. She looked down at herself. She was wearing a dark blue yutaka with yellow looking flowers and yellow obi. She jolted a bit in shock. _I remember this place…No! _she though. She had to get out of this stupid dream. No way is she re-dreaming about this again! She was about to get up, but she couldn't move. Fireworks started to explode up in the sky. Beautiful and romantic scenery, most would say. But not for Akira. Akira turned towards the blonde guy…or blonde boy. She was about to say something, but she fell for those same, blue eyes. The boy leaned in further in, until he was so close to Akira that he can kiss her. "I love you. Please, can you go out with me, un?" he said in a soft whisper._

Akira was super groggy today. It was finally the day: War. She left Deidara at Yukari's house the night before, thinking that she'll won't have to worry about him. When Akira got there, she got sent to the Commando Unit, for she was quick and her earth style jutsu would give the enemy a surprise. She was stuck with a dark skinned fellow with a sword, who was obviously worrying about something in his head; another guy who was painting something in a scroll; and another guy who was apparently the Captain of the Unit, but was obviously in his teens (he looks around the age of 18). She finally got to know their names: the dark skinned guy is Omoi, the one who was painting in his scroll is Sai, and the Captain's name is Kankuro.

She was currently at the unit's mini-base, with the other members of the unit: Ittan (a ninja that she worked with before), Tango, Zaji, Hoheto, and Kiri. Ittan and she have made a trench around the base; Sai was on aerial surveillance; Omoi set up the explosive traps; Tango made a chakra communication antenna; Kiri was with Kankuro reviewing their strategies; and both Zaji and Hoheto were on sensory and watch duty. Akira was fine with Hoheto on this duty, but she was a bit worried with Zaji and his ignorance.

She let out a small sigh, hoping that no one heard her. Unfortunately, Ittan heard her sigh.

"Are you okay, Akira-san?" He asked.

"Yes, and no. I didn't really sleep well last night," she replied with another sigh.

"I would usually say to rest, but we are in the Commando Unit, so we can't rest. Are you worried about your son?" Of course Ittan knew that Akira was 100% worried for her son. Akira started to remember about last night after Ittan said that.

Deidara was done packing his things, and they were in front of Yukari's house. When Akira was going to ring the doorbell, she noticed that Deidara looked like he was on the verge of tears.

" What's wrong Deidara?" she asked as she squatted towards his height.

"Mom's going to war, un. Is…is Mom going to be okay, hm?" he said, his voice shaking. Tears started to spill out of his eyes. "You're…you're coming back to me, right, un?" Akira hugged Deidara, and wiped his tears.

"Don't worry about Mom, okay? I'll be back before you know it!" She tried her best not to sound frighten, or at least tear up.

" Promise?" Akira took Deidara's hand.

"Stick out your pinkie," Akira said. Deidara looked at her, with a confused expression. Akira laughed. "Just do it." He did as he was told. Akira wrapped her pinkie around his.

"Pinkie promises are considered special promises. Well, that's how I see it. Anyways, I pinky promise that I would return home, safe and sound. Got it?" Deidara nodded. Akira got up and rang Yukari's doorbell. Haruhi answered the door, and dragged her mom outside. Yukari and Akira chatted for a while.

"You be safe, Akira," Yukari said.

"I'll sure to be safe, Yukari." Akira bent down and gave Deidara a quick kiss on his forehead. Akira does give Deidara a kiss…once in a while. It's not really easy for her, but it's easy for Deidara. It's quite weird for Akira to express her love. She usually gives him a hug. Even that makes her blush a bit. "Love you Deidara," she said.

"I love you too, Mom," Deidara gave Akira a peck on her cheek, and a small hug. Then Akira left, blushing like crazy, and thinking of keeping her promise.

Back in the present time…

"Yeah, I promised him to come back as soon as possible." Akira said with a small smile. Ittan stared at her for a while. He was a bit worried for Akira. He knew that she knew about who their enemy might be. But, still…

"Don't freeze up," his mouth slipped. _Oops. This is not going to be pretty_. He knew that Akira was going to have a fit. Or, in other words, get pissed at him for saying something what she already knows.

"Pardon?"

"You know who our enemies are, correct?" Ittan said with caution in his voice.

"Yes," she said slowly. "Your point of me not freezing up?"

"You know that there is a possibility that we may go up against a **certain** Atasuki member, right?" Akira knew perfectly well of whom he was talking about. **_Him_**, Akira though. Instead of being calm and collected, and telling him that she knows, her temper rose a bit too high.

"Ittan, are you saying that I won't fight against **HIM**?!" She said, her voice a little bit too loud.

"That's exactly what I'm saying! If **he** is the one that we have to fight, you are going to freeze up!"

"How do you know if I'm going to freeze up?! Tell me, how!" This little argument caused Kankuro to come out of the tent, with Kiri by his side.

"What's going on here?" He asked, his voice serious. Ittan ignored Kankuro and continued.

"I know because of your bond with **him**! He's the father of your child and-" Before Ittan can say anymore, Akira lifted him his shirt. Akira was crazy red and super mad.

"You don't need to say anything else Ittan! And there is no way in hell am I going to hesitate in killing that bastard!" Kankuro stepped in and grabbed Akira's arm.

"Akira-san, that's enough! Both you and Ittan, stop arguing. You are going to give us away to the enemy." Akira let go of Ittan's shirt, and slowly dropped her arm.

"What were the two of you arguing about?" Omoi asked. Akira narrowed her eyes.

"Nothing that concerns you. This may mostly concern only Ittan and I." Akira said. Kiri butted in.

"Yes, it concerns the whole unit. If one of us has something that could be a weakness to our unit, everyone must know." said Kiri.

"This is a personal matter. Do not butt in." Akira replied sharply.

"I'm telling them anyways. You know Deidara, rogue ninja from our village, right. Well-" Ittan began, but was interrupted by Zaji.

"Huh?!" Zaji said with hesitation.

"What is it?" Kankuro asked, turning his attention to Zaji.

"This is Jamming Jutsu. It's interfering with my sensing ability…But I'm sure something is coming."

"Is it the enemy?" Suddenly, a figure came and fell.

"It's Muta! I can tell from his Chakra. It's really him! He's Aburame, part of the advance scouting party…!"

"Hold on! Hey, Zaji! There are traps in that area! I'll go retrieve him!" Zaji ignored Kankuro, and made it to Muta. He bended down beside him.

"Muta are you okay?"

"Stay…away from…me," Muta muttered.

"Hoheto!" Kankuro said.

"I know! Byakugan!" Hoheto observed for a second, and knew what was wrong. "That beetle bag on his back! Those are not Aburame Clan beetles inside!"

"That rash fool!" Muta took Zaji by the neck, and started to move in towards the unit.

"I told him to be wary!" Ittan said, forming his position. Akira did the same. Once the enemy attack, they'll use Earth Style to cut in deep inside the earth, to not get hurt by any explosions.

"There's a large mass of chakra inside Muta's beetles sack! Something's wrong!" Hoheto said.

"Ittan, Akira, go for it!" Kankuro demanded.

"There's no mistake! It's Deidara's detoning clay!" Ittan said, hitting the ground. Akira did the same. _Damn. Why? _she though. She couldn't think anymore about the situation at hand and why she's up against him. Suddenly, a flash of light blinded her.

_ Most likely 5 minutes later…_

Akira and Ittan was able to make sure the group was safe. Kiri treated the injured. Akira helped him out a bit by giving him some of her chakra. From inside the walls of the rock that was surrounding them, she could hear what was going on. Omoi was able to free Tokuma and Lanka from the clutches- or, the strings- of Sasori of the Red Sand. Sai fought with his older brother, and was able to mend his to undone the bindings of his soul, and his bond to the world was released. Omoi, Sai, and Kankuro were able to capture and weakened Sasori and Deidara by using Raiton. Finally, Kankuro was able to undone the bindings of Sasori's soul. Which left Deidara.

"Just you watch you ruffians! Reinforcements are coming our way, hm!" Yelled Deidara from inside one of Kankuro's puppets. He was covered in darkness, and was shaking with frustration. He started to try moving, but he wasn't able to. Deidara finally gave up with an "HM!" and just stayed there. He was able to hear what was going outside around him. He took this opportunity to eavesdrop. _Not for Kabuto's and Tobi's sake. For the fun of it. _He listened to the conversation between the "Puppet Idiot #2" and a woman.

"What the hell do we do with him?" he heard the women said in a tone that made her sound like a drill sergeant. The voice sounded familiar to Deidara. **Too **familiar. But, it couldn't be Akira. Her voice isn't that high. Could she have had a change of voice while he was gone? Maybe, so. Her voice could have gone a tone higher. Although, it would make her sound like a girl.

"With whom?" Puppet Idiot #2 asked.

"Deidara. She means the fool inside the puppet at this moment," said another male's voice. Deidara recognized that voice instantly: Ittan. Deidara was mad now. Who is HE calling a FOOL?!

"ITTAN! WHO ARE YOU CALLING A FOOL, HM!?" yelled Deidara. He heard Ittan chuckled.

"I called you a fool," Ittan paused for a moment. Deidara waited. "Cin_dei_rella." Deidara twitched at that name. Oh how mad Deidara was after Ittan said that. Deidara yelled again.

"THAT WAS ONCE, UN! DON'T CALL ME THAT YOU OLD MAN, YEAH!"

"A nickname for the enemy you say?" said another voice. It was that guy who considered himself an artist. Sai.

"Oh yeah," Ittan said with another chuckle. "There was this one time, when he was younger, he played the role of-"

"BLABLABLA! SHUT UP YOU OLD MAN! JUST SHUT UP!" Deidara yelled.

"Ugh, just tell us how we can make him get the hell out of the world of the living and back to the world of the dead!" said the woman said.

"Pfft, you guys can't possibly undo the bindings in my heart! You don't even know…" he quieted down for a moment. "What I left behind." He muttered. He wanted to see Akira…badly. He missed her with all his heart. He tried to forget about her. His heart aches just thinking about her. He wanted to see his son, too. To see if he had grown a bit, to see if he took after him or his mother. That's all he wanted to do. To see how much they had grown. To embrace Akira again, like he used to. To hear her say once more…

"Hey, you still alive in there…DeDe-chan?" Deidara looked up and just stared with surprise and a bit of happiness on his face.

"Kira-kun," he whispered, as he saw his most favourite person in the world, standing a distance from him. He could see how beautiful she has become. Still stood straight. Has her eyes that are big, but onyx colour.

A million thoughts entered her head when she saw Deidara. Her ex-best friend. Her ex-boyfriend. Her ex-husband. Yup, a million thoughts.

_ Dang, he looks hotter_. Was the first thought that came to her mind. When realizing what she just thought, she was mentally having a fast-pace war with herself. _Stupid Akira, how could you?! He's a S-Rank criminal and is the enemy! Oh, how I wonder if he had at least gotten taller…Hopefully he can still embrace me the same way that he used to…NO! What are you saying Akira! Get a hold of yourself. Damn, he's so cute and hot. Shit! DON'T EVER SAY THAT AGAIN AKIRA! SERIOUSLY, GET A HOLD OF YOURSELF GIRL! REMEMBER TO KILL HIM! Why did Ittan have to tell Kankuro? Screw you Ittan, I'm getting you back for making me talk to this low-life... I can finally his voice again. I remember…ARGH! NOT AGAIN! Follow orders. Just talk to him. Actually, I can use this moment to bit the shit out of him. And cut all his bindings from his heart. Yeah right, he doesn't have a heart. That cruel b**tard. What will talking do? I don't even know what to say. Argh. _

Akira has made up her mind. Just kill him. As many times she wants. Then talk. Yeah. With a straight face. She can talk to him from earshot of everyone else. They were reviewing their strategy. "Make it quick," Kankuro said. "We need to launch a surprise attack quickly."

As she walked up towards Deidara, a million of memories flooded her mind. Memories of them…together, for what she though, forever.

**M: Yep, so that's it! Hope you guys liked it. The next few Chapters are like small stories that shows Akira's and Deidara's relationship in different periods of time. Please review! The more reviews, the better!**

** A: MAYA!**

** M: Yes Akira? What is-! Hey, wait a minute! Why are you talking to me? You are supposed to be in the story! This is weird that I'm talking to a character…**

** A: I DON'T CARE! I HAVE MY RIGHTS! ANYWAYS, WHY DID I CALL DEIDARA HOT?!**

** M: I don't know. Why did you?**

** D: You called me…hot? Whoa. That was the first time that I heard you say it directly to me. Other than the time that I read you're diary**

** A: (blushing) N-no! I did not! Hey! You read my diary?**

** D: Don't worry; I still think you are cute!**

** A: (furiously blushing) W-why you! I'm going to-**

** M: Wait Akira! You are not allowed to kill him yet! Uh…Later!**


	4. Chapter 4

** So here is part 1 of the first time Akira met DeDe-chan (I really like that name 3). Oh, also, please read my other fan fiction if you are a fan of Lucky Star!**

** A: This is so embarrassing…**

** M: Hey Akira! What's up?**

** D: Don't take so long Maya! Hurry up with the Chapter!**

** M: Why do I even let you guys talk…**

**Disclaimer: I do not own Naruto…yet.**

Chapter 4

She met him after the first week of when the new school year for the Ninja Academy in the Village Hidden Amongst the Stones, at the age of 6.

Whenever Akira thought about how she met Deidara, she would always blame it on the flu. The whole entire first week, she was stuck in bed with a bug in her stomach and a massive appetite. Akira rarely ever got sick, so the flu usually gives her a piece of their minds.

After a week of no eating and puking like her stomach is going to come out from her mouth, she was able to attend the second week of the new school year. Usually calm and collected, she was VERY nervous. Everyone would have already started to make a circle and will most likely close all boundaries. _I'll just make sure no one knows I'm there._ Akira thought. _Maybe become a lone wolf, like what Mom said I'd be if I don't talk to anyone_.

That morning, she was still a little sick, so she wore a big hoodie, to keep her warm. The hood covered most of her face, so that's the best way to be unnoticed, in her head that is. She wore a plain pair of jeans, her sneakers and she was off (and said bye to her parents)!

Her classes started at 8:30. She had to be at the office to check for her homeroom teacher, so she had to be there early. She got to the school with 10 minutes to spare.

The Art room is always opened in the morning. Students are welcomed to come here to work on their assignments, or just to draw for fun. There, you'd always see a small, blonde-hair boy sculpting out of clay. Yep, that was Deidara. He would always come early to school to use the Art room for his new "creations". The only person that actually applauds his art was the art room teacher.

Ever since the first day of school, he's been tormented by guys in his class. Apparently, he was too "girly" with his long blonde hair. Being the shortest in the class, they would also call him a little girl. To make things worse, when they had art for the first week, the art teacher complimented Deidara for his pretty piece of work. That pissed the girls off a bit. They were at the age where they believed the stereotype that girls are better at arts than boys. So, if someone said that a guy's art is better than theirs that is a big no-no. In the end, neither guys nor girls ever talked to him. And from then on, after the first day of school, he's been branded as an outsider.

On that particular day, thought, Deidara has just run out of clay for his new creation.

"Ah," he said in his high pitched voice. The Art teacher (Ms. Yoko, by the way), has stopped painting on her canvas, and looked at Deidara.

"What's wrong Deidara-kun?" she asked in a sweet way. Oh, and by the way. Ms. Yoko is really pretty. She mostly turns her attention on Deidara, so that makes the boys SUPER jealous. Tough luck Deidara-kun!

"I ran out of clay," he said. He looked at his sculpture. He didn't really know what he was sculpting exactly. He just let his hands flow. So, now was a good time to see what he did. He was making a sculpture of…a person? From the structure, it would be more of a girl's body than a boy's.

"Hm…What are you trying to make?" asked Ms. Yoko as she stood up. She walked towards Deidara. "Oh? A person?"

"Maybe, un," he said honestly. _I wonder why…_

"It looks good enough for me. Kind of looks like a doll. But, if you want more clay, you will have to go to the storage room."

"The storage room?"

"Yes. It's downstairs in the basement. But, I can't leave you alone…"

"I'll go to the storage room and get clay, un!" he exclaimed. He never been there before, and he really wanted to see if they had anything other than clay there. Then he flustered at his outburst. "If that's okay with you…"

Ms. Yoko laughed. "Okay, sure. The storage room is…" Ms. Yoko told Deidara where the storage room is and where to find the clay. "Oh, but you better hurry up. Classes are about to start in ten minutes."

"Yes! Thank you, yeah!" Deidara dashed out towards the storage room, only to expect…

Running into someone. Scratch that. _Someone_ running into her. Is now falling. That's all Akira knew what was happening. Or what just happened. She was in the hallways, making her way to the main office, when someone just ran into her. At first, she was lost. Then, she was confused. Finally, as she realised she was sprawled on the floor, she was mad at whoever the hell knocked her down.

"Hey!" Akira said, and she picked her head up. "Watch where you are going-!" She stopped in the middle of her sentence, and came to realise that she just knocked into a small…girl? _Yeah, definitely a girl, with that long blonde hair_. _And, look how small she is! Maybe someone's little sister?_ An unpleasant idea just hit Akira_. Maybe, she's the sister of someone that may be in my class! If she tells on me, everyone is going to know me as the mean person who knocks down little people whenever she wants!_

The little girl was sprawled on the floor, her blonde hair everywhere. Re-phrase that. Her blonde hair was elegantly placed everywhere. She groaned as she sat up on her knees.

"Ow…" she muttered. The little girl came to realise that the person that she bumped into was there. "Ah! Did I bump into you?" The little girl sputtered out. "I'm sorry, un!" Her voice was high, but something about it makes her sound more of a little boy…_Naw, you are just imagining things_.

"U-uh, no, it's okay," said Akira, making sure the hood covered her face, her voice low. Hey, that was one of the best things she can do at the moment. "Please be more careful next time," Akira said, while holding out her hand. The little girl shrugged her off.

"It's fine, yeah! I can get up now, un! Thank you for thinking about me, though, un." And with that, the little girl left Akira there hanging. She didn't really care though. _As long as I'm not in trouble._ Akira continued making her way to the main office, thinking, _oh, how I wish I can look at least as more of a girl like her_.

_Oh, how I wish I can look and be more boyish like him, un_, Deidara though, as he walked towards the storage room. _I want to be tall like him too, un. Too bad I didn't ask for his name_. Deidara has just bumped into a tall, hooded boy that must have been his age. But, from the way his voice sounded, he didn't sounds like a guy. Maybe, some may say, sounds like a girl. _That's impossible Deidara! Don't think such random stuff, yeah_. He made his way down the stairs, and into the room. Luckily, the cartons of clay are on the lower shelf, so Deidara had no problems reaching for a packet of fresh clay.

After returning to the Art room, it was already 8:30….wait, what? _Oh no, un!_ Deidara though as he making a full on dash towards his classroom. He was late. _Really_ late. _Sensei is not going to be happy, un_. He took in a mental image of his sensei (Kurosawa-sensei) angry at him. "So it seems like you're late Deidara!" His mental image said. "Give me ten push-ups, on the spot!" Just thinking of what may happen made Deidara run even faster towards him classroom. He had to dodge and go around the crowd in the hallway, in order to not get run over.

He finally made it to his classroom. He can hear Kurosawa-sensei talking towards the class. He took in big gulps of air. _Okay, un. Just enter and apologize to Kurosawa-sensei, YEAH!_

Deidara opened the classroom door and stepped inside quickly, and bowed deeply. He looked up quickly.

"I'm super sorry for being late Kurosawa-sensei! I didn't know what time it was so-!" Before Deidara can say anymore, he noticed that there was a person standing at the front of the classroom, beside Kurosawa. He took a good look at the person. It was the same person that…

"HEY!" They both yelled at the same time. Akira was at her new classroom now, in the front, near where the door is.

After her hit-and-run accident, she was able to make it to the main office, and obtain information on where her homeroom is. When she entered her new classroom, she was greeted by a lively, yet strict, teacher, and multiples of new faces, whispering to each other.

"Class!" Kurosawa-sensei (Akira's homeroom teacher) said in a loud voice, which made everyone shut up. "This here is our new student. Actually she's not really new. She's just…late by 1 week." Kurosawa looked down to Akira with a grin. "Why don't you introduce yourself, my dear?"

Akira looked around nervously. Although, no one can tell she was nervous, because her hood was still on and covered most of her face. The teacher didn't give a damn about it.

"My name is Akira Kurosaki," Akira said in a low tone. She then bowed. "It's a pleasure to be your acquaintance." Suddenly, an erupting of questions and whispers began to all flood at once.

"Is it a boy or girl? I can't tell…"

"Akira is mostly a boy's name."

"What does acquaintance mean?"

"My parents know the Kurosaki residence! But, they have a girl apparently…"

"How old are you?"

"Why are you late to school?"

"Dude, you have a nice hood on!"

"Ugh. Look how sloppily he is dressed!"

"Okay everyone! Settle down now…SERIOUSLY, SETTLE DOWN!" Yelled Kurosawa-sensei over the voices of the other kids. Everyone immediately shut the hell up. _Hmmm…She must be a scary teacher to make them be quiet_ Akira though.

"…You may ask questions one at a time, alright?" Continued Kurosawa. Everyone nodded in unison. "Good. Alright. So, anyone have any questions directed to Akira." Some hands rose up. Then suddenly the door opened and…we are back to the present.

"You're that girl that ran into me!" Akira said.

"You're that boy that I ran into, un!" The blonde said at the same time. They both had bewildered expressions on their face. And confused.

"I'm not a girl, yeah!" The blonde said in an angry tone. "I'm a BOY, UN!"

"I'm not a boy!" Akira echoed, right after the boy finished his sentence. "I'M A GIRL!" The boy walked up to Akira, with a mad look.

"You liar, un!" He said, looking up to Akira's face. "You're not a girl!" Something cracked inside of Akira's head. _Did he just say…I'M NOT A GIRL?!_

"I'm the liar?! You're the liar! It's impossible for you to be a boy, because you look like a girl!"

"I do not, yeah!"

"You do!"

"No, I don't, hm!"

"Yes, you do!"

"Well, you look like a boy!"

"PARDON?!" Akira didn't want people to think of her as a boy of all things! She quickly took of her hood. Everyone seated started whisper.

"Does this look like a boy to you?" She asked, as a she pointed towards herself. The boy just stared at her for a while, eyes big.

"Yes." _He's just trying to get on your nerves Akira. Calm down._

"You little brat!" Akira said while holding him up by his shirt. "How dare you make fun of me? Why, I ought to-" Someone gripped on to her hand. Akira turned to look at a girl with long, wavy brown hair.

"Please let go of him. You are creating a ruckus." She said calmly. The girl looked one year older than Akira. Akira would have said something on the spot, but decided to not to. Everyone was staring at her now, including the teacher, who was talking a mighty interest in Akira.

Akira let the boy go, letting him fall to the ground. The boy was staring back at the Akira, with anger in his eyes.

"Thank you," said the girl with long wavy hair. She walked up to her seat in the back row, with all the boys eyes on her. As she took her seat, Kurosawa-sensei started to clap.

"Bravo," she said, as she intensely at Akira and the boy, with a grin. "Welcome to my classroom Akira. Both you and Deidara shall be spending lunch in the classroom."

** Yeah, this was long, which is why I split it into two parts! Hope you guys enjoy! Please review while you are at it! Later!**


	5. Chapter 5

**M: Hello there my lovely readers! Although I am grateful for somebodi-else (I hopefully spelled that right), I would love it that other people read my story! Please? Pretty Please? Can you try reading this story DX ? (I am also thankful for those who follow my story X3**

** Anyways, this is part two to the first time our dear Akira and Deidara meet. I don't think my writing is that great as before. Please, bear with me! And, if anything is weird, it's because I once again used the Copy-N-Paste method!**

** Disclaimer: I do not own Naruto, nor do I own Deidara (Damn it…)**

Chapter 5

"I come to the Academy, thinking that I'll be training to become a ninja. Instead, I find myself cleaning the classroom with a…toothbrush?!" Akira yelled. She was all alone in the classroom, with the little blonde boy that she got into a fight with, cleaning the floors with a lovely pink toothbrush.

As punishment of disturbing the class, and picking a fight with each other, Ms. Kurosawa has decided to make them clean the whole room. Starting with Akira on floor duty, using only a blue toothbrush to scrub the place.

_"This room better be clean by the time lunch is over! If you don't," Kurosawa-sensei held up two lunch boxes –one that was blue, with Akira on it, and the other that was yellow, with Deidara on it- and ran to the door. "Or you won't get your lunch back! Ciao!" _

The blonde was cleaning the HUGE chalkboard, by wiping away the dust, and trying to wash the top parts with a yellow sponge and water. His tiny hands were soaked with water and soap, and were tired from holding the sponge up for so long. Of course, being small, he was having a difficult time, and had to bring in a chair just so he can at least wipe half way up the board. He looked down right after what Akira said.

"Hey, it's better than cleaning the whole board, un! Do you know big it is, yeah? I can't reach half way, never mind the top part, hm!" He said, standing on his tip-toes, trying as hard as he can to reach the top. His arms started to scream in pain, saying _put us down Deidara! We're tired! No more!_

"I'm not a shrimp like you, got it! If I was cleaning the board, I would have finished it faster than you!" Akira yelled, scrubbing the floors. _Humph. I can't believe it! This is going to take forever and…is that old gum on the floor? EW! _Akira picked up (she had gloves on, of course) the gum, and looked at it disgustingly. She threw it in the garbage. By now, her arms were getting sore from scrubbing the dirty floor, and her back started to hurt from bending over. She took a small break.

She looked at the clock. It's been a whole 40 minutes since she started this hell work. 20 more minutes until lunch is over. She was almost done with the floors. _Now if the kid would finish the board, I can eat my lunch!_ She started to furiously clean the floors, and within 5 minutes, the floors were done.

Akira looked at the now clean and sparkly floor. She smiled with pride. She then looked at how the kid was doing with the board.

Unfortunately, the small blonde is still trying to clean the board, his legs and arms shaking for standing on his toes and holding his arms high for too long. He suddenly stopped, taking time to recuperate from his constant shaking. Akira took the time to actually see him in silence.

_He's so tiny, like he's four years old. He looks fragile too…like a cute doll!_

Suddenly, the silence was broken by the sound of the boy's stomach growling. The boy started to blush a light shade of pink, and whipped his head towards Akira, to make sure she didn't hear it.

Akira couldn't help but laugh.

"What?" The boy asked, glaring at her.

"Aw, poor kid. Are you hungry?" Akira said, mockingly. Then, as if on cue, her stomach started to growl too. Akira turned scarlet, and clasped her hands over her stomach. It was then the boy's turn to laugh.

"Oh, be quiet and finish cleaning the board!" Akira ordered him. The boy turned quickly, but was still giggling. Then, he started to reach for the top parts of the board. No matter how he tried, he can never wipe the top. Akira suddenly felt a sense of pity for the boy. She walked towards the blonde, smirking.

"You need help with that?" She asked, looking up to the boy. The boy looked down at her, and stuck his tongue out.

"No thank you, un." He said smugly. His legs started to scream in pain, in unison with his arms. He quickly gave up, and started at the board with a glare. Akira checked the clock. Only 15 minutes till the bell goes off.

"Oh, c'mon! It will be quicker if I did it!" She extended her arms to take the sponge, but the boy was still behaving stubborn. It was time for her last resort. Swiftly, without hesitating, she picked the boy around the waist and placed him on the floor. She then grabbed the sponge out of his hand and started to wipe the board.

It took the boy a few moments to take in what just happened.

"H-hey! What was that for?" The boy said. "I could have finished the board quickly, you-" Before the boy finished, Akira had wiped the whole board clean. The boy stared at her. Akira stared at him. Then, a grin took over Akira's face.

"Ooh? The board would have been finished quickly, huh? It took you almost the whole lunch just to clean the board! Yet, you only finished half of it. And I finished the rest in a jiffy!"

"Jiffy? What's that?" The boy asked, curious.

"I don't know," Akira said simply, with a shrug of a shoulder. "My dad says it. He'd say to mom whenever she wants him to do something quickly."

"That's really weird," the boy said with a giggle.

"Yeah, my parents are weird." Akira said, laughing. "What about your parents?"

"I don't know." The boy said plainly, shrugging his shoulders as he said it. "I grew up alone. But Tsuchikage-sama took care of me… sort of." Akira grin faded. She never heard of anyone not having parents. She can't imagine not having her parents with her.

"Isn't it…lonely?"

"No. I got used to it. Anyways, I have my sculptures!"

"Sculptures?" Akira said confusingly. She never heard of this foreign word…Sculptures. A really odd word, indeed. The boy laughed at her puzzled face.

"It's that art that has a shape. Like you or me. But they are not alive. You can use any materials to create them."

"Something that's not alive…like plastic?" Akira said innocently.

"…You can say that. Or, I could show you some!" The boy said smiling. "After school, okay?" Suddenly, Akira realised something. Something that she didn't expect to happen when she got to the Ninja Academy.

"Does that make us…friends?" Akira said, glancing away from the boy. The boy smile grew wider.

"Sure! My name is Deidara, by the way." He extended his hand. "What's your name?" Akira looked at the boy, then his hand. She finally did something she has least expected; she actually made a friend. On the first day of school (in her case), too. Akira smiled, and shook Deidara's hand.

"My name is Akira!"

It was now after school, and Deidara was waiting at the front of the school. He was supposed to go to his house with his new friend, Akira. But, Kurosawa-sensei wanted to see her to give her an over-line on what's going to happen during the year.

As kids pass by Deidara, he was watching the clouds that pass by over him. He smiled to himself. _I can't wait to show Akira-san my sculptures, un_, he said pleasantly to himself. Other than Ms. Yoko, Deidara wanted to show others his art. Although he showed some to others, they just laughed at him. Now, he can show his new friend, and see her opinion of his artwork. Something inside of him told him that Akira wouldn't laugh at him, or his artwork.

This sudden though of Akira made him think of what happened during lunch. How she flashed that pretty smile of hers towards him, and shook his hand._ That smile of hers is very pretty…if only she can smile like that all the time._ He felt his face burn a bit, and started to wave his hand, to cool his face down. That, of course, didn't work. He waved his hand harder.

"Nice make-up, girly," said a voice behind Deidara. Deidara turned, even if it was against his own will. He found Yoshida the Bully (that's his nickname), looking all high and mighty as usual, with his little gang nodding along like a bunch of bobble-heads. Of all the people in the world that could bully him, it was Yoshida that loves to push Deidara around. Yoshida, with his big height and his spiky black hair, who can easily squish Deidara.

"Nice shade of blush. What colour is it? Pink? And your hair looks like it shines like those girls. What shampoo and conditioner do you use? Panthene Volume?" His friends started to laugh, not knowing what the hell Panthene was.

"No, I don't wear blush," Deidara muttered, and started to walk towards the school doors. Yoshida quickly pulled Deidara, and pushed him towards the ground. Deidara yelped in a high-pitch voice, making Yoshida to make another remark.

"Look at him. He even yelps like a girl!" Deidara quickly got up, but as soon as he got up, Yoshida came to push him down again. Before Yoshida can do anything, he felt a quick tug pulling him back. Yoshida whipped his face around, and found Akira pulling him back with only one hand. Someone was beside Deidara at this point, and decided to lend him their hand.

It was the girl with the long, wavy brown hair, and big brown eyes, who stopped Akira from slapping or beating him in class.

"Aren't you…?" Deidara began, quickly going through the list of students that were in his class. The girl cut him off, by pulling him to his feet.

"Yukari." She said with a small smile, and turned towards Yoshida and Akira. It seems like Yoshida was going to pounce Akira in any minute. And he did. And he failed. Akira swiftly dodged him, and was now at Deidara's side. She looked pissed off, and it seems like she's  
holding back.

"Only the weak pick on the smaller ones," she said simply. That pissed Yoshida so much, that he looks like he'd throw a punch at her.

"Shut up!" Yoshida yelled fiercely, trying to intimidate her. "Says the one who's weak! And is a girl! Why do you even stand up for that girly-boy?"

"Says the boy who knows about Panthene Volume whatever. That's a girl's product. How do you even know of such product?" Akira said with a smirk. That made all the boys laugh at Yoshida, and Yoshida started to blush.

"Shut up," he was about to launch a punch, but Yukari stood before Akira. That made Yoshida stops on his tracks completely.

"Please, don't cause trouble, and walk away," Yukari said, flashing a smile that makes all the guys die. Yoshida quickly turned around, and he and his gang walked away. Yukari started to walk off. Deidara hesitated a bit. He was about to thank her, but Akira stole his line.

"Thank you!" Akira yelled at the figure that was walking further and further.

"Don't mention it," Yukari yelled as she turned to wave bye, and left. Akira smiled with triumph, and turned towards Deidara.

"You okay, DeDe-chan?"

"Yeah, I'm fine…wait, DeDe-chan, yeah!?" He yelled, receiving a laugh by Akira.

"Aye. You got a problem with that…DeDe-chan?" Deidara put on a face that was supposed to make him look mad, but makes him look cuter. "Fine then. You can give me a nickname too." Akira flashed him another cute smile, which made Deidara fluster. He avoid eye contact, and thought for a while.

"How about…Kira-kun, hm?" Now, it's Akira's turn to make a face.

"Why do you have to add a –kun at the end?"

"Why do you have to add –chan at the end, un?" They looked at each other for a long time. Then, Akira broke the stare by looking away.

"Fine." She said, not looking at Deidara. Deidara swore that he can see Akira's face turn a tinge of pink. His thoughts were disturbed, when he heard someone call out her name.

"Akira!" said a woman, in a chunin vest, who was walking towards him. She reminded him of Akira. She had the same big, onyx eyes, and brown hair. But, her hair was kept up to her shoulders, and unlike Akira's onyx eyes that looks harsh, the woman's eyes are filled with warmth.

"Oh, Ma! It's you." _That makes sense. That's why they looked a lot alike_, Deidara though. The women came up, and was about to say something, but noticed Deidara.

"Oh! Is this your friend?" She asked, smiling. Her smile was the same as Akira. It was really pretty, and made her look more beautiful.

"Yes. This is Deidara." Akira said, patting him on the back.

"What a lovely name!" The woman said, squatting down to his height. "Nice to meet you, Deidara-kun! I'm Akira's mother. My name is Torako. You can call me Tora-chan."

Deidara bowed his head formally. "It's nice to meet you, Kurosaki-san-" Torako raised her hand, her pointer finger pointing up, and placed it on Deidara's mouth.

"Tut-tut! It's Tora-chan!" She said playfully.

"T-Tora-chan…"Deidara said uncomfortably, for saying an adult's name without the –san is foreign for him. Torako laughed.

"It's okay my dear boy. I will keep reminding you if I have too, thought!" Torako chuckled, and stood up on her feet.

"Eh, Mom. Why are you here?" Akira said, with a confuse tone in her voice. "I thought you and Dad went on a mission today, and wouldn't be back by night…"

"Well, your dad and I finished the mission early today, so I came to pick you up." Torako turned towards Deidara, and a grin appeared. "But I guess you and your new friend were originally going to do something, so I'm going to leave."

"It's okay, un!" Deidara said. "I can show Akira-san the sculptures at home another time, yeah!"

"Well, aren't you a young artist?" Torako said, and then paused. She finally said, with a mischievous grin, "Why don't you come over to our house? I bet your Dad will love to meet Deidara, right Akira?"

"Oh, I don't know if I should-" Deidara started, but Akira interrupted him.

"Yeah! You should come over, DeDe-chan!"

"That does it! Let's go right now!" And with that, Torako made her way home, with Akira dragging Deidara right behind her.

"We're home!" Akira said, with Deidara right behind her. She took of her shoes and ran inside (while dragging Deidara). She found her father lying lazingly on the sofa, with a book in one hand. Torako, her mother, came quickly behind her. Her father took notice of Akira, and got off the couch when he saw Torako.

"Hey kiddo!" said Akira's father, walking towards them and messed up her hair a bit.

"Hello there Ando," Torako said with a deadly grin. "Being lazy again, are we?" Torako hates it whenever her husband behaves lazy, especially when she does most of the work on their missions. And today was one of those days when she did the work.

"No, my dear," he said, landing a kiss on her cheek. He quickly looked down to see Deidara.

"I didn't know you can make a friend in one day, Akira. She's really small." Ando said, with a chuckle. Akira noticed Deidara's surrounding aura is turning mad.

"Actually, Dad, Deidara is a boy." Akira said, holding back a laugh. Akira took a good look on her father's face, which showed surprise and shocked.

"Really?" He manages to say. Akira took one look at Deidara, and knew that in any second, he'll explode.

"I'm pretty sure I'm a boy, yeah!" Deidara said, while looking up at Ando. Ando just stared at Deidara, with a blank expression on his face. He raised his hand, and placed it on Deidara head.

"What?" he slurred out. "This pipsqueak is a boy? You sure about that Akira?" The aura around Deidara has begun to turn violent, so Akira took one step back, and lay against the wall to enjoy the show. So did her mother.

"I'm not a pipsqueak, old man!" Deidara yelled. An arrow must have shot through Ando's body, for he had a devastated face.

"O-old m-m-an?!" Ando was able to recover quickly, however. He pointed towards his black hair, saying "Do I have any grey hair here?"

"Yes, you do, un!" Deidara said, as he pointed towards on strand of hair. "There, un!" Ando quickly placed his hand over his hair, and looked around the house, scanning for a mirror. Torako had been prepared, and handed him a mirror. Ando looked at his reflection in horror.

By now, Akira was laughing like crazy, and gave Deidara a high-five. Although, Akira quickly noticed that her mother was whispering something in his father's ear.

"Oh, Tora-chan!" Ando said, with a stream of fake tears running down both of his cheeks. He was gripping on his wife's shoulders, looking in despair. "Is it true? Will that boy be my son-in-law?" Akira's ear perked up.

"Well, yeah, I guess so." Akira's face started to turn red. _So that's why Mom brought Deidara!_

"N-no! DeDe-chan is just a friend!" she said, pointing a finger at Deidara. Deidara looked curious, because he didn't hear what Akira's parents say.

"See, they already have nicknames! It's a perfect match!" Torako said, smiling. Now Deidara understood the situation. Akira tried her best to avoid eye contact with neither Deidara, nor her parents.

"Yeah! Akira-san is just a friend, un! We just only met, hm! It's not like that, un!" Deidara said. Of course, his voice was ignored by Ando.

"Well, we do need another guy in the house!"

"No, no! He's just a friend!" Akira said desperately. "Dad! Don't go adding things that would make the situation weird!"

"Aye!" Deidara said agreeing with Akira. "Nothing is between us! Nothing great at the moment, un!" Akira's parents just stared at them. Then, Torako broke into a grin.

"At the moment, hm?"

"That's not what I meant!" Deidara said, flustered. Akira just stared at him, with daggers in her eyes. _Great job, DeDe-chan!_

For the rest of the evening, Akira tried to clear up the misunderstanding with Torako. Deidara, however, was having a heated argument with Ando, over many, many things. It turns out, they are a lot alike. When dinner came, and Deidara complimented Torako about her cooking, she was smiling the whole time –which made Ando very jealous-.

Akira was embarrassed the whole time. Her parents have just embarrassed her in front of her new friend. When it was time for Deidara to leave, Akira followed Deidara up until the door.

"I'm sorry about my parents," she said, blushing a bit.

"What for, un?" he asked innocently.

"For saying what they said earlier. And my Dad." Deidara just kept staring at her. Then, he broke into a smile.

"You don't have to apologize, yeah. It was fun, hm. I really liked your dad. I'm going to visit again, un." He bowed down, and said "Thank you for inviting me, un. Even if we were supposed to go to my house, un." He looked back up, and looked into Akira's eyes. Akira quickly glanced away. _What's wrong with me?_

"I-I'll visit another time. I promise!" She said, not looking at his blue eyes.

"Yep," Deidara said cheerfully. "See you tomorrow, un."

"T-tomorrow?" Akira said without thinking at all about the question. Deidara laughed.

"Yes, un. We have school tomorrow, hm!" Deidara started to leave. Akira said looked at him. Her head wasn't working at the moment. For some reason, she didn't feel the need to speak. She just felt like staring at Deidara. She finally broke out of her spell, and spoke.

"Uh, bye!" she finally yelled out.

"Bye, un!" It took a while, but finally, when Akira was sure he was gone, she ran into her room, slammed the door, and landed on her bed. She looked blankly at the wall that was against her bed. _What's wrong with me?_

** M: I should start naming my chapters. This story is mostly with smiles. The beginning is most likely how they fell in love…or at least Deidara. Akira is really stubborn. Of course, Deidara doesn't know he fell in love at that moment. If the ending didn't make sense, I just wanted to show Deidara's relationship with Akira's parents. You know…a good relationship between the soon-to-be-son-in-law and the soon-to-be-parents-in-law XD Yukari and Yoshida are important too. Keep them in mind. I may add more chapters than originally…you know to add the feeling into DeDe-chan and Kira-kun's relationship.**

** A: I was foolish back then…**

** Yukari: You were a girl in love…and you still are.**

** A: Am not.**

** Y: Are too~!**

** A: No. I'm not. How much are you going to add in the chapter to come?**

** M: Uh…Next chapter, I may put it a few years ahead…like, 2-3 years…is that okay?**

** Y: Ah! We were already good friends by then, so sure! I'll get more lines that way!**

** A: I thought it was about Deidara and I. Not you and Yoshida…**

** D: You really are jealous aren't you? And still in love with me too. I love you too :D**

** A: (Ready to launch a punch) I AM NOT!**

** M: Not again… Please review.**


	6. Chapter 6

…**Uh, hello there dear followers. How do you do? Fine…I'M SORRY! I'm super-duper sorry for updating this late! Please forgive me! *Bowing deeply* I'm sorry I'm updating this late! And I know that it's not good to blame others, but school has been driving me nuts! So much stuff going around on the school board! Seriously! And, in December, all of our project were rushed and due before the winter holidays! Oh the stress! Oh the torture! But, now since I'm on vacation, I have plenty of time to update the chapters I should have updated! *Sigh* Too many exclamation marks…anyway, I'm not going to keep you guys waiting, so I'll just go ahead with the chapter. **

**So, this chapter is just to explain why Ittan said Cin**_**dei**_**rella. It connects Akira and Deidara in a way because of a surprise at the end! **

**Disclaimer: I don't own Naruto. Or Cinderella **

_Akira just kept remembering and remembering. Her and Deidara's friendship has grown stronger and stronger. And after just two years, too! After that day, Yoshida started to slowly hang out with Akira and Deidara._

"_A ninja must know a lot about their enemy!" Yoshida had said after his defeat by Akira. "Until I know your weakness that I could use to pummel you, I'll be hanging out with you guys!" Back then, he pointed at her like he meant it. But, Akira was pretty sure that he enjoyed his time that they spent together. Especially since Yukari also happened to hang out with them because of Akira's constant attempts to talk to the brown beauty._

_There was this time when Deidara and she was 8. Now, back then, Akira never believed in true love. She still tries not to believe it. Then, there is the topic of holding hands, sharing umbrellas… but that's another time, at another age. What Akira never liked was the idea of love in fairy tales. She hated how __unrealistic __it was. She also hated kisses in fairy tales. But, her opinions didn't matter at all. This event started because of the school's budget, and a simple story of Cinderella…_

Chapter 6

"…and Cinderella and the Prince lived happily ever after," finishes Ms. Yuko, with a satisfied smile. "The end."

Ms. Yuko looked up towards Kurosawa-sensei, who looked extremely irritated at the sappy ending. All the girls in the class looked at Ms. Yuko with dreamy eyes, as if they were imagining themselves being carried away by their prince. As for the guys, well, they looked like their head would explode from boredom. All the guys, including Akira that is.

She couldn't understand why Yukari looked so dreamy eyed about the story.

It's just another un-realistic fantasy that would never happen. She was surprised, however, by how attentively Deidara has been listening to the story.

Deidara, whose seat was beside her, has actually paid attention to the story.

"How can you** not** get **bored**?" Akira whispered to Deidara as Ms. Yuko put the book back in her bag.

"It's just a story, Kira-kun, un. It's fun listening to them, un. You don't find books like those every day, yeah" he replied with one of the sweetest smiles one could see. "It truly is a piece of art, hm!" After 2 years, Deidara has not changed a lot. Especially his voice, height, and love for clay art.

"Art, shmart," Akira muttered, not giving a damn whether it is a piece of art or crap. "Last time you said something like that, you said it when we were looking at a book on drawings and the blue print of a clay bomb."

"Well," he said, as he started to draw a weird looking bird. "Stories are written art, un. And anyway, the way the bomb explodes is cool, hm. Like, how a firework explodes, yeah! That is like art!'

"I can never understand," Akira said, as she placed her head into her arms, closing her eyes.

A fairy tale is a tale. In the world of the ninja, there are no such things as love at first sight, or living happily ever after. You're just a tool to be used and disposed of. How a child of 8 can think that way is just a mystery. Akira thinks way too complex for her age. It has its advantages and disadvantages.

"Eh, Ms. Yuko?" Yoshida spoke up tiredly, looking like he just woke up, with his hair in a mush and a little bit of drool on his left cheek. "Why did you have to read that? I mean, what the point in us listening to that story? It has nothing to do with ninja-ing."

"Yeah! What's the point?" Said one of Yoshida's gang friends.

"It was such a waste of time…" whined another boy.

"…and is completely stupid," Akira muttered quietly to herself. Unfortunately, the whole class heard her. And her little comment set off all the girls.

"Akira!" Yukari exclaimed, looking like Akira said something offensive. What did you say wrong?

"How could you say that? It was beautiful!" cried a girl.

"The prince searched everywhere for her!" said the class representative, Ai, with an extreme faraway look on her face. Ai placed a delicate hand on her chest. "Cinderella is such a lucky girl! I bet my prince would do that! Search for me if I got lost! Even risk his life for me!" Akira rose from her seat as she looked directly had Ai.

"Yeah right," scoffed Akira. "First off, a ninja shouldn't get lost in the first place! What kind of Shinobi does that? Secondly, he didn't come looking for her. He waited lazily in one place until the girl came to him! Actually he wasn't even at the place! He didn't even try looking for her himself. Geez. It's unrealistic. We all know that a shinobi must continue on with the mission. With or without their partner." Ai looked dead into Akira's eyes. Her straight, shoulder length blonde hair looked like it would have rose straight up from her anger. "Why are you looking at me like I made that rule up?"

"You're saying that because no guy would come looking for you! No guy likes you!" Akira twitched with irritation. That wasn't what she wanted to hear. At all.

"And you think that all the guys like you? Just because your name means "to love" doesn't mean that they would love you enough to go after you! I bet not every guy likes you romantically." Those words slipped out of Akira's mouth. That's not what she wanted to say, in all honesty. Ai was being too much to handle. But, it made sense. They are, in fact, only 8.

"Tell me one person-a guy- who'd actually risk their life to search for you," Ai said smugly. Akira obviously knew that none of them would do it because they love her. They may do it as her comrade, as her ninja pal. Nothing more, nothing less. But, they have to think of the possibility that they would have to leave without her. Because that's how the Shinobi world works. If you can't catch up with the others, then you aren't of any use.

"I'd look for her, un," Deidara suddenly piped in. Oh, right. Deidara. How could Akira forget that he was there? _Wait, did he just say…_For some reason, she wanted him to say something else. But what?

"I'd look for her, un," he repeated, looking at Ai. Ai looked back in astonishment. _Of course she would be surprised_, Akira though. _So am I_. So did the rest of the class. Deidara, now just realising what he said, continued. "I'd look for her b-because-"he stuttered, looking like he was trying to fix himself. He was cut by the oohing of the whole class.

"H-Hey, un!" Deidara yelled over the others. "It's only because she's my friend, hm! Of course I'd go after a friend, yeah! If Yoshida got lost, then I'd go after him, too, un!" As the rest laughed at Yoshida's embarrassed face, Akira felt like her heart has been stabbed when he said the words "just a friend". She had no idea why, however.

"Okay, people," Kurosawa-sensei said, finally deciding to step in. "I think we have already enough time of uselessness. So," she turned towards Ms. Yuko. "Why did you tell that story?" All Ms. Yuko did was stare at her, dumbfounded.

"You didn't pay attention to the meeting?" Ms. Yuko said, sounding irritated.

"Hey, how did you know?" Kurosawa asked with a genuine fake surprise. Ms. Yuko just sighed to that.

"Well, I was about to explain it anyway," she said as she unrolled a hand-drawn poster and put on the middle of the blackboard. She summoned a ruler, and then continued on. "We are going to be hosting our first Ninja Academy of Iwa Festival!"

_How did this happen, un?_ Deidara asked himself in his head, as Yukari put on one of her pink dresses on him. Deidara couldn't bear to look at himself in such a hideous colour. He started to wonder why he was even doing this in the first place…

_Around 1 week earlier…_

"What?" said all the students at the same time, along with Kurosawa-sensei.

"I said," Ms. Yuko said, swinging her ruler around cheerfully. "We will be having our first Ninja Academy Festival!"

"Yuko-chan! Since when- no wait. Why are we having a school festival?!" Kurosawa-sensei asked, completely confused.

"Now, now Kurosawa-sensei! You say it like it's a bad thing!" Ms. Yuko said with a little disappointment.

"Nooo. I'm not trying to say that. It's just that I think it not fair! Why didn't they have a school festival back when we were at the Academy?" Kurosawa-sensei complained. As Ms. Yuko whispered a bit about how the budget for the school is really low, and they needed money, Deidara was thinking about what a school festival is. He knows what a festival is, that's for sure. He just never heard of an _Academy_ festival.

"Hey, what do you do for an Academy festival?" Yoshida asked, turning towards Yukari, Deidara, and Akira.

"Seriously?" Yukari said. "It's just like any other festival there is. Except, it's at school. And it's hosted by students. Each homeroom class has to do their own things, like having a haunted house. It's like things we do in festivals! Except, we get the money…" As finishes, she noticed how fixated Yoshida looked.

"Money, eh?" He smiled an evil smile. Deidara ignored it, and asked another question.

"So, what does the tale have to do with the festival, un?"

"I think it's most likely because we might do a play based on the story…"

"Exactly Yukari!" Ms. Yuko said, drawing eyes on her. "During the whole time, there will also be a presentation in which classes can participate! It can be anything! And so, I decided that I wanted one of the classes to at least do a play! I decided you guys, so I chose _Cinderella_! And, knowing that your teacher had nothing in store, I already signed you guys up!"

"Whoa, whoa!" Kurosawa-sensei said, looking at Ms. Yuko. "You didn't ask me-"

"Actually, I did," Ms. Yuko said with a smirk. "You were just reading another one of those books. So, does it sound good?" Ai stood up with pride.

"As class rep, I say that this is a great idea! And we would love to do it!" A few people groaned, but they were drowned by the whispers of excitement.

"Great!" Ms. Yuko said with excitement, as she took out another scroll and summoned packets of green scrolls. "I already went ahead and made a script! Also, inside are the characters that are included! Most of you would be able to play the roles! If you don't want to be in the play, you can always do backstage role!" As Ms. Yuko keep rattling on about the play, Deidara could see Akira sinking in deeper into her arms, paying no heed. _Maybe I should try out, un_, Deidara thought. _Who knows? I might get the starring role…_

_The present time…_

What Deidara didn't know was that Yukari had written **his** name on the sign-up sheet for **Cinderella's** part.

After many attempts to no play the part, he had to give in. Ms. Yuko was able to influence him of just trying out for the fun of it. He expected for Ai to get the part. Ai expected Deidara to get the part of the Prince, somehow. That didn't work out well. Because Deidara got the part, and Ai go the part of the Prince's attendant.

"As Yukari circled around Deidara, he tried his best not to look at the mirror. Alas, he did, and received an unpleasant surprise.

"AAAAAAAAHHHHHHH!" he yelled at the reflection, as he noticed how obviously hideous it was. It was hot pink, with bows and laces. Not a pretty sight.

"Geez, calm down." Yukari muttered, hitting his head.

"Yukari, why, un?" Deidara cowered.

"Why what?" As she walked to her closet.

"Why did you sign me up for the part of _Cinderella_, hm? You should have put Akira!"

"Why, so you can see Akira in a dress?" Akira smirked, as she found a soft blue dress. Deidara turned a dark shade of red, as he imagined Akira in a dress. He would have found it incredibly cute if Akira did dress up in a pretty dress. "'Cause, it's fun. And anyway, I already signed her up for the Prince's part." Deidara looked at her dumfounded.

"You what, un?"

"Me signed Akira for Prince part." She said as if she was talking to a toddler. Satisfied with her choice, she decided trust the dress at Deidara, signaling him to put it on. "Let's face the facts Deidara. You'd look like a perfect Cinderella, and Akira would look like a handsome Prince! By the way," Yukari said, with a mischievous grin plastered on her face. "If I remember correctly, the Prince gives Cinderella a kiss at the end…" Immediately after she said that, Deidara quickly put on the dress and left the changing room (or the closet). Yukari couldn't help but say "Hey, Cind_ei_rella. Looks like the blue one looks just right."

After everything was down pat (like the dresses and what kind of backgrounds), Akira had to practice her lines like crazy. Not only that, she had to take the trouble of acting it out, too.

The only reason she was the Prince was because she was the only one that signed up for it. Heck, she didn't even sign up for it! It was all Yukari's doing. But, then again, Akira wasn't complaining. As long as Yukari didn't sign her up for any of the female roles where they wear frilly dresses, she'd be fine playing any male role. She'd actually be willing to _hug_ and _slow dance_ with Cinderella if she had to. And Akira never hugged anyone…she hugs her parents, but resists the urge. She's not into those kinds of things.

The problem was that _Deidara_ was the one playing the Cinderella role. Akira had no clue about it until the first day of practice.

"Wait, you're Cinderella?!" she said as she saw him in an apron and a messy bun. She leaned in closely. "Are you wearing…blush?" When she noticed Deidara not replying, she couldn't help but laugh. And she couldn't help but admit that he was absolutely adorable.

"B-be quiet, un!" Deidara said, blushing furiously and looking away. "Yukari forced me to! She said that I'd look more like Cinderella, so…" Akira's smile dropped when she heard him say that.

"Wait. You're seriously Cinderella?" Deidara simply nodded, until the student playing the step-mother ushered him to get ready. All Akira do was sit down and watch. Inside, she was falling down into a deep pit of nothing.

_Why? Why Deidara of all people?_ She thought to herself. For some reason, she didn't like the fact that her best friend will be playing the lead part. Part of her really loved the idea, since they get to dance and hold hands and…_Akira!_ She told herself furiously. _What are you saying? Do you know how weird it is to do that to your best friend? It's already uncomfortable that he has to play a girl's part! And dance with you! Why are you so happy? Ugh, I don't understand this anymore. Why is my heart racing because I'm thinking of stupid Deidara?!_

"Uh, Kurosaki-san. It's time for you to enter the scene…" whispered one of the students, making her snap out of her thoughts. Akira nodded and went ahead.

"Alrights!" said the girl directing the whole play. "We shall begin the scene! Action1' They started to do the scene where Cinderella enters and the Prince saw her. It was all going well. Until Akira **had **to dance with Deidara.

It was incredibly uncomfortable, in her opinion. It was weird enough that Akira had to say lines about how beautiful Cinderella was. Placing one hand on Deidara's waist, she felt herself turn red. But, then Deidara placed _his_ hand on her shoulder. Which made her jump. And leap away from Deidara.

"What's wrong, Akira-san?" said the director, looking mighty pissed off.

"S-sorry," Akira said, composing herself. She tried to make sure her face hasn't turned too red, but that sure of a hell didn't work out. "Can we…skip this part, please?"

"No, we can't skip this part!" cried the girl. "Akira-san, we have to practice!"

"I know. But, can we please skip it? Just this once," Akira begged as if it mattered if she did or didn't.

"If you're not going to play the part," Ai started as she stepped up in between Akira and Deidara. "Deidara can easily replace Akira, and I can easily replace Deidara! Then, we are all happy!" Ai flashed a brilliant smile at Deidara. "I mean, if you can't handle this part, how will you handle the kiss part?" A sudden pang of emotion swept over Akira that moment. Jealousy, and anger, to be precise.

"No, we don't need that to happen," Akira said, brushing past Ai and getting into a dancing position. "I'm perfectly fine with dancing." She was about to place her hand on Deidara's waist, before he took her hand.

"Just leave it, un." Deidara said quietly. Akira wasn't sure, but she was pretty sure the pink on Deidara's face wasn't the blush. "Can we do the dancing later?"

After a while of thinking, the director gave in. "Fine, fine. We'll do it later. Continue on with the scene."

As Ai stepped back from Akira, they continued. But during the whole time, Akira couldn't help but feel like her heart was going to explode if she kept standing near him.

"Oye, Deidara!"

"Hm?" Deidara stared back at himself from the mirror. Yukari was standing right behind him, smiling.

"I think I did a great job with everything!" she said proudly. And she did. All Yukari did was add the pink blush on, and some light blue eye shadow. She allowed his hair to fall freely, but put a bandana on his head so his bangs don't fall.

It was the day of the festical, and up until now, Kurosawa's class was having a blast going to different classes and stands. There were a lot of people from the village who actually came. From ninjas to normal citizens. It was really exciting. But, soon, it was the class turn to present. They were setting up for Part 1.

"Yo, Yukari. Deida-" Yoshida stopped dead at his tracks and just stared at Deidara for a second. Then, he sighed with relief. "Sorry, sorry. I just thought that you were a really pretty girl for a second." Deidara narrowed his eyes for a second, thinking of whether or not to take it as a complement or an insult. Yukari also glared at him for some reason.

"Uh, yeah," Yoshida continued, shifting uncomfortably. "So, um, we're starting right now. It's time to get on stage."

"Yeah, yeah," Deidara muttered, as he walked towards the stage. He stood where he was supposed to stand, and prepared himself. The curtain opens, and the play begun.

"Long, long time ago, there lived a girl named Cin_dei_rella," began the narrator. Deidara quickly scanned the auditorium, looking for familiar faces. People began to laugh at the name, knowing full well that Deidara was playing Cinderella. Akira's parents were also there, Ando took the pleasure of chuckling. Deidara ignored him, and presented his lines.

_Okay Akira. Calm down._ Akira was seated on a crate and her face was in her hands. Even though they rehearsed a lot, Akira still found the whole situation uncomfortable.

She was totally fine with the dancing. But now, there was the issue of _kissing_ Deidara. Because she didn't do so at final rehearsal, she promised to do it in the real performance. She knew full well that it was just a simple peck on the cheek. That if she didn't promise and did so, and then Ai would gladly do her part. And there was no way Akira was letting Ai give a "simple peck" on **his** cheek.

"Akira," whispered Yoshida, who was beside her. "Change into this." Akira obediently did so. Right after she was done, Part 1 had just finished, and everyone was preparing for Part 2. Akira ignored everyone's chattering, and just stood where she was supposed to stand. Ai was right beside.

"You know, we could always trade places." Ai said smugly. Akira just looked at her, and stared ahead.

"So what? You can kiss him?"

"N-no, of course not!" Ai stuttered, trying to hide the blush on her face. That action made it clear that Ai had a small crush on Deidara. Why is it bothering Akira so much, thought? For now, she had to halt her thoughts, because the curtains started to open. Some random music started playing in the background, as Akira walked in.

"Why don't you dance with someone, your majesty?" Ai asked fluently, with pure curiosity of the Prince's attendant.

"No one catches my interest," Akira said blandly, turning towards the audience with no interest in her voice at all. When the audience finally realised who was playing the Prince, the whole audience found it hilarious.

"What about those two?" Ai said, pointing at the two students who play the step-sisters. "They seem fine…" Akira lowered Ai's hand.

"First, it's rude to point. Second," she said with a pause, looking at them, then putting on a face of disgust. "No."

"After a while," the narrator started to say, continuing the story. "the Prince found the whole ball boring and was about to leave. However, just as he was, Cindeirella happened to enter. And at that moment, everyone stopped. Even the music stopped." With a screech of the disc, everything was silent and stared at Deidara, who was wearing the soft blue dress that Yukari on him. His hair was still let down, but his bangs were in front.

All Akira could think was how frigging adorable he looked. She felt like squeezing him till death, yet she has no idea why.

"Who is _that_?" Akira said, leaning in towards Ai. She didn't know if it was part of the script, but Ai looked completely shocked. And it obvious that she wasn't acting.

"U-um, s-she…" Ai couldn't find the right words. It a good thing that the audience thought that it was all part of the show. They were surprised too, after all. Ai finally found her voice and continued. "I have no idea, Sire."

"I must know," Akira said, making her way towards Deidara. They exchanged their lines. And then came the dancing. Akira took Deidara by the waist, and took his hand. They started to waltz a bit, following the script carefully. But, as soon as they started waltzing, Akira didn't feel the need to stop. She just felt like she should just keep going. That is, until the "clock" struck 12, and she was forced to let go of Deidara.

"I must be going!" Deidara said, scurrying off the stage. Akira stared dumbfounded. When she got off the stage, she was greeted by Yukari, whose smile was like that of the Cashire Cat's.

"What?" Akira asked, curious to know what made Yukari so happy.

"We saw what you did," said Yoshida in her place. "You didn't want to let go, riiiiiight?" Akira's face turned scarlet, and she just punched Yoshida's arm as hard as she could.

"Shut up," she muttered, turning around and looking away from the injured Yoshida.

Soon, she had to get on stage for the finale. It was the part where Cinderella and the Prince got married. And they kissed. And they lived happily ever after. _Oh no, _Akira thought as they exchange their final lines, _Do I really have to kiss him?_ She took a deep breath and leaned in.

"Just place your face beside mine," Deidara whispered into her ear. "It'll look like you did kiss me." Akira obediently did as she was told. But, then she felt guilty. She didn't know why, but she felt like she was letting the whole team down by not following the script. And so she did it.

When they were finally doing the roll-calling for who did who, Akira did it. With a final bow, she turned towards Deidara and placed a simple peck on his cheek. Which made them both turn red as crazy. Which pissed Ando very much. But, she didn't care. And by the look that Deidara gave out, he seemed to like it.

**WOW. That was long. I'm sorry if this is like, really long. But, I sort of ran out of ideas so…yeah. I promise that the next chapter would be better, with better writing! Um, while I'm here, please review. I think it'd be better to know what others think. Thank you for reading!**


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